05/11/2024
This is a I took last year(ish) of one of my best friends, John. He buried his mom’s ashes today, next to his father who served in WWII. His mom, Dot, lived to be 94. Today, a handful of people gathered to celebrate her life and the impact she had in theirs.
I helped John decide what to write on the tombstone. Challenged in condensing his mom’s life to two lines with limited characters, I urged him to define her in three words. This is an exercise I use in brand building, too. What three words do you want people to think of when they think of you?
“She was funny,” he shared retrospectively. “Like Lucille Ball funny. And she was the glue that held our family together.”
Truly loved. Brilliantly funny.
We chose four.
These four words tell her story. Magical. That’s what words are.
And life – we live it so quickly and someday someone may have to select words to describe the impact we had in this world - in their world.
I never met John’s mom. She died of Covid in 2020, months before I knew him. Backup at Fort Rosecrans resulted in a delayed ceremony. From what I now know of John, as he has become a pilar in my life, I can imagine that his mom was indeed brilliantly funny, because her son is, too. And truly loved. I can see that love in my friend and the way he cares for others.
I know death is sad. We lose someone we love in a physical sense. How beautiful LIFE is though – so much more than the dash between birth and death dates. It’s the way we impact others. It’s the light we shine. It is in the energy we share.
Truly loved. Brilliantly funny.
Those words aren’t just a tribute; they’re a reminder of the power of love, laughter, and the legacies we leave behind.
